Florence Journal

Welcome to the Florence Journal

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Don't miss our searchable map of Florence - you can find restaurants, hotels, museums and more. We also have links to lots of other great maps of Florence to help you plan your visit here.

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Florence-Journal.com is about living in Florence. How to get here, how to live here legally, where to eat, what to do, where to shop, and where to go on the weekends. Of course it is also about Italian wine and Italian food - why live in Italy if you don't enjoy these things? We hope you find some useful information here - thanks for visiting.

Bernini at the Bargello

There is another fantastic sculpture exhibit at the Bargello - "The Living Marbles" - their temporary shows always seem to be very strong and well curated. The current one focuses on Gian Lorenzo Bernini and the birth of the Baroque, which is refreshing for Florence since so much of everything here is Renaissance only. Through July 12th.

Work on the Neptune

There was a crew in cherry pickers working on the Neptune yesterday - when you see a human right next to this statue you can get a much better idea of just how huge it is:

They may have been doing work in conjunction of the new security system that is going in place.

Florence update

I just can't seem to keep up with posting here - the days are very busy and the end of the school year is near and there is just so much to do before we take our holidays. Florence seems to teeter back and forth from eerily empty to bursting with tourists - but the consensus seems to be that these are quiet times. There are just more and more empty stores turning up every day - last week it was a small retailer in the heart of town, right next to the Cantinetta Verrazzano. And strolling around in the evening it seems that most restaurants are completely empty.

The good news? It seems that two shops on via dei Neri that have been empty for quite awhile are under contract. The English bookshop is being renovated (for what seems like a reopening - unless it is just the landlord sprucing it up) and the large Claudio Faggi store (I think I have that name right) also has the "For Rent" signs down and appears to be undergoing renovation. It will be nice to have these spots open again.

One newer addition is the Serafina gelateria in Piazza Gaetano Salvemini. They have a €1 cone, and - milk shakes!

(Gratuitous family cell phone pic :)

LUISAVIAROMA 50% off weekend sale!

Spend 1,000 Euro this weekend on LUISAVIAROMA.COM, and get 50% off any order placed next weekend!

If you are shopping for high end Italian fashion this is a huge chance to save from Luisa Via Roma.

Museo Bardini reopens

According to some friends this collection has been closed for 30 years. I can't verify that, but I know it has been under renovation since we got here in 2005. One curiosity of the reopening - the museum in only open Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, from 11 AM to 5 PM (5 euros for adults). The URL on the bad cell phone pic below is not working yet, but it will forward you to a comune page, where you can find a link to a Word doc (!), in Italian only... yes - it is 2009.

A sad day in Italy

The earthquake centered around L'Aquila today is just terrible news, and it continues to get worse as the number of dead climbs.

We have received a lot of emails and calls about the earthquake today, but please know that we are just fine here in Florence. I don't think tremors even made it this far.

Sprucing up the Duomo

I think what was going on here was an annual check up for loose stone work and things like that - basically getting ready for Easter and the explosion of the cart. Anyway, it is always strange to see these buildings juxtaposed against modern machinery.

Sorry for the quality of the pics - they were taken with my cell phone.

Florentine New Year

Today is New Year's Day in Florence - really.

Best Trattoria in Rome?

Okay this is the Florence Journal but Florence, Venice and Rome make up the big three cities of Italian tourism and I get asked a lot about Rome so I just wanted to share this article from the NY Times, "Best Trattoria in Rome? Let the Debate Begin". Go and print this out now and tuck it in your favorite guidebook (or passport, etc.). I know the next time I make it down to Rome I will be trying one of the places mentioned - they all sound great.

Lucca restaurant law making international news

There has been a simmering controversy going on in Lucca about a new law banning fast food shops from the city center the last few weeks. The NY Times has now picked up on the story:

"Lucca's center-right city council recently stirred much contention, and accusations of racism, by prohibiting new ethnic food restaurants from opening within its gorgeous historical center."

This is definitely one of those "modern" problems that Italy overall is grappling with. Individually it is a tough case - the center of Lucca is no "city" - it is a village you can walk across in minutes, and the value of tourism there for the local economy is enormous (much like the center of Florence, it is akin to being in a tourist "park" for the most part and not a "real" world). On one side it is pretty easy to see how the locals are trying to maintain a status quo and keep Lucca "Luccan" - for themselves and for their tourism industry. On the other hand, how can you honestly tell someone what kind of food they can cook - if you open a restaurant and adhere to local laws and safety standards, etc., isn't what you serve your business? An interesting story from all sides -

Florence Wine Merchants

I have been working hard on a new creation as I try to satisfy all my interests with their own websites and blogs. This is one I am really happy with so far: Florence Wine Merchants

I plan to devote a lot of time to this project and to hopefully see it have some success as a tool that lets me make some kind of inroad to the wine business. I am looking forward to getting as much quality content as I can between now and Vinitaly and being able to point people here at the show and getting feedback from producers and other Italian wine experts and lovers afterwards. I will keep you posted -

Michelangelo's "Crickets Cage" on view again

Has it really been ten years? That is what some published reports are saying - but finally the infamous "cricket's cage" (so dubbed by Michelangelo) of Baccio D’Agnolo is on view again:

This has to be one of the most infamous unfinished architectural details of all time - what would the Duomo be like if it was completed on all sides with this balcony/loggia? It is hard to imagine, but it is even harder living with the fact that such a famous building was never quite "finished" all these centuries later.

Either way, it is fantastic to be able to see this again and I hope that all the scaffolding comes down soon - but certain sides of the church look so filthy that I can't imagine another restoration project will start sooner rather than later.

Free Wine Tasting Thursday afternoon

Enoteca Alessi is a bit of a hidden gem - just steps from the Duomo but tucked enough out of the way for most visitors to miss. They have a regular series of free wine tastings, and there is one tomorrow from a good producer - Rocca di Montegrossi. If you stop by you can taste several wines (usually 3) and snack on some bruschetta, From 5 pm to 7 pm.

Make sure you also go downstairs to the cellar - they have one of the largest selections of wine in Florence, and uncommonly fair prices for a store in "centro storico" (translation - you are not going to get ripped off here!).

Enoteca Alessi, Via Delle Oche, 27/r, 50100 Firenze (FI), Italy‎ - +39 055 2396987‎

Traffic ticket fraud in Florence?

Interesting article in the NY Times the other day, "Red-Light Cameras, Italian Style", about possible fraud with the automatic system widely used in Italy for giving out tickets to people who run red lights, etc.

It piqued my interest because about a year ago my wife got one of these automated tickets (of course it comes in the mail months later). We did some research on the date and the area the ticket was from, and traced it back to the day her mother came into the airport and she went to pick her up. It all sounded like it fit so we paid the ticket - but it is very unlikely for her to do something like run a red light. Now I have to wonder if we were part of what is being called a $170 million dollar fraud.

Italian tourism taking a hit

Not that it is surprising, but tourism here is definitely hurting. The prices are high to begin with for Americans, even with the recent improvement in the dollar - but the GBP has absolutely crashed, and the Russians are in trouble too. There was a recent NY Times article that focused on Rome but could as easily have been about Florence: All Roads May Lead Here, but They Aren’t Bringing Big Spenders Even the local English language newspaper here just ran an article wondering if this is the bottom:

"There is little doubt that we are in the midst of an important moment in Florence. The city is changing by the day-decreasing tourism, increasing rents, more rules, less money. Have we hit rock bottom?"

It will definitely be an interesting and challenging 2009.

Orsanmichele - Florence, Italy

Orsanmichele - Florence, Italy is a new micro site we are working on. There is more work to do, but check it out when you get a chance.

Pitti Uomo

Keeping with the fashion theme... this week in Florence is the Pitti Uomo at the Fortezza da Basso. This is a very important men's fashion show that usually has Florence buzzing for several days. The women's winter pre-collection will also be on view. This show is a pretty big deal in the fashion world.

LUISAVIAROMA

LUISAVIAROMA is a Florentine icon. The store has been on Via Roma near Piazza della Repubblica for over 70 years, and the owners were selling Dolce & Gabbana and other now famous Italian designers before anyone else. The store recently underwent a major renovation, and features huge touch screens where you can browse and put items into a virtual "basket" that are then brought to your private dressing room! They also have a cutting edge e-commerce site, and ship free to the US and many other parts of the world. If you are in Florence, make sure to visit this unique store.

It's cold in Florence!

Fa freddo oggi - well actually today wasn't awful so of course it rained instead - but it has been really cold here and it looks like the cold and wind are coming back for the end of the week!

American Express Office in Florence closed!

Just shocked today to find out that the American Express Travel Office on Via Dante Alghieri has been closed! I can't imagine the last time there wasn't an Amex office in this town -

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I guess this happened recently but the place is empty. Couple that with the lone Citibank branch closing, and it just keeps getting harder and harder to get money here (for us, anyway). I suppose this was simple cost cutting on their part - how much can be made from cashing travelers checks, giving cash advances and selling train tickets? Not enough I guess to keep a whole office and staff going. They did have travel agents there too but that part of the business always seemed dead.